Разработчик: Moon Spider Studio
Описание
Feature List
Gamepad required (Xbox 360/One recommended)
About the Game
Harold’s going to need a miracle to get through this race in one piece… That’s where you come in! As the guardian angel-in-training assigned to watch over Harold as he competes in a series of increasingly complicated and dangerous obstacle courses, you must summon all your otherworldly might to get this hopeless contender across the finish line in first place. Shoot lightning and move heaven and earth to open up new ways forward for Harold while delaying the other racers just long enough for him to win. He may not be the smartest. He may not be the fastest. He is definitely not the strongest. But you’re in this together. No one said earning your wings would be an easy job. Key Features Action-packed racing – Harold will need all the help he can get outrunning the competition while jumping, swinging and sliding across the very many treacherous environmental hazards that litter each course. Use your angelic powers to manipulate objects in the world, send the other racers into traps and light a fire under Harold whenever he starts to fall behind. Celestial challenges – Harold brings you 12 unique and varied courses across 3 special game modes. Each level offers multiple routes to victory that will require skill and determination to master. While fun and accessible to everyone, only a true guardian will divine the perfect path to first place on each track. Beautiful hand-drawn animation – Inspired by classic 2D animated films, Harold’s richly drawn characters and vibrant background scenery are a perfect match for its absurd comic premise, creating one of the most visually stunning and stylistic experiences in gaming.Поддерживаемые языки: english, french, italian, german, spanish - spain, portuguese - portugal, portuguese - brazil
Системные требования
Windows
- OS *: Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8
- Processor: Intel Core i3-2105 and higher or AMD Phenom II X4 B95 and higher
- Memory: 3 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GT 620 and higher or AMD Radeon HD 8470D and higher
- DirectX: Version 9.0c
- Storage: 4 GB available space
- Sound Card: Integrated sound card
- Additional Notes: Gamepad required (Xbox 360/One recommended)
- OS *: Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8
- Processor: Intel Core i3-4150 and higher or AMD Phenom II X6 1055T and higher
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- Graphics: GeForce GTX 460 and higher or Radeon HD 8950 and higher
- DirectX: Version 9.0c
- Storage: 4 GB available space
- Sound Card: Integrated sound card
- Additional Notes: Gamepad required (Xbox 360/One recommended)
Отзывы пользователей
It’s not uncommon for a middling game to be carried by its graphics. That won’t work for every game, of course, but there are plenty of titles out there that justify their existence with some particularly fine art. Harold is a special case, though, because it has one of the greatest gulfs between visual quality and gameplay quality I’ve ever seen. The graphics are truly remarkable, featuring animations that rival even TV and film, yet are used to bring to life an ill-conceived system that feels more like an indie experiment than a full offering. I almost wish the graphics could carry this one so I could enjoy more of them, but sadly the gameplay is about as fit as Harold himself.
You don’t play as Harold, mind you. You are Gabe, a hot-shot guardian angel-in-training that seems to breeze through every challenge put to him. That all ends when the forces that be decree that the angels must compete in a deadly race. Not directly, of course, but by guiding and protecting mortals who run the race through dark jungles and treacherous ruins. For this challenge, Gabe has been paired with Harold, perhaps the scrawniest, dippiest of the competitors. Regardless, if Gabe wants to pass the test and earn his wings, he’ll have to guide Harold safely past spike pits, crocodiles, and far worse things, and do it fast enough that the hapless human can rank in the top three.
All of this action is going to be presented in some of the brightest, most lushly-animated art you’ve ever seen in a video game. This is no joke, the hand-drawn animations for all the characters and traps are nothing short of incredible, every one of them silky-smooth and full of dynamic motion in the finest Tom & Jerry traditions. Harold competes with four other runners, each with a very different character conveyed entirely through their appearance and animations. The traps are no less impressive, with detailed water sprays, dust clouds, and shimmers. It’s a vibrant world being shown here, extending even to the many cutscenes that bookend the game’s races.
But the races are where the marvels end. Harold is a hands-off platformer, which is a genre that’s notoriousy tricky to get right. During each race, he’ll dink along at his own pace to the right, jogging haplessly into rope traps and spiked walls. All of the obstacles have interaction points that key off of different parts of your controller, like pushing left or right to move platforms or rotating the stick to lower a drawbridge. Before each race there’s an extended practice mode, where you have to pass each screen of the race by learning how the traps and timings work. This part of the game is a pretty fun puzzle challenge, honestly, because there are optional stars to collect and the short length of each section makes retrying painless. I’ve spent a decent amount of time scoring stars in this mode, which can require some careful timing and tricky button combinations.
The problem arises when you translate that into the actual races. Working out the trap puzzles one at a time is fun, but stringing them all together into a race turns it into an ordeal. Simply remember how exactly to pass each one can be difficult, given how tight some of the timing is and how the results of one trap can affect others. On top of that, there’s the pressure to actually place in the top three for each race, which requires collecting and strategically using boosts to pass the other races. Plus, there are additional interactions for sabotaging other racers, which is fun but massively distracts from getting Harold through tricky parts himself. All of this combines to make a big mess of gameplay that took me multiple tries just to pass the first race of a dozen.
Harold isn’t really a bad game, but it’s designed to appeal to an incredibly small and specific demographic of gamers. I’m sure there are people out there who are looking for puzzle challenges with tight, dynamic timing and near-perfect execution over long levels, and for them this is going to be the holy grail of games. I’m not one of those people though, and for my part I find it frustrating that the breathtaking art is spent on something that’s going to be tedious for almost everyone that tries it. I wish the gameplay was even half as good as the animations, but when it’s so hard to get anything fun or rewarding out of Harold, it’s no surprise that it’s going to finish last.
Did you enjoy this review? I certainly hope so, and I certainly hope you'll check out more of them at https://goldplatedgames.com/ or on my curation page!
Multitasking at it's finest.
https://youtu.be/EEFBQzlr7gk
A game that I initially thought would be cheaply made mobile inspired knock-off racing game is actually filled with charm, artistically beautiful, and has a very well tuned difficulty curve and difficulty cap. You'll find yourself making 3rd place (required for progression) with some ease, but trying to get 1st bends your dexterity, awareness, and reaction time to a peak.
Guys how do I turn this off???
Visuals are amazing. But way too complicated for the rewards of the game: cut scene/story
Too many buttons just to get through. Next time design for the player not for yourself.
I think I would describe this as the Dark souls of racing games.
In Harold, you're a guardian angel, a prodigy guardian angel, being the protector of Harold, guidim him though obstacle courses that may or may not be lethal (Sawblade wound? Pffft, that's nothing)
The only control you have over Harold (The guy you're helping) is boosting his speed for a few seconds or making him jump, harold won't stop ever, unless, of course, he hits a wall.
This game gets hard really fast, you're managing Harold, sabotaging other racers and, your "puff power" wich are lives and boosters for Harold at the same time. Thankfully, before every race, there are some training stages that guide you though the obstacles of the next race, with stars showing you the best paths to take.
This game is so damn pretty! The animated look like something that could come from a cartoon show, there's usually an animation between stages, one before each and another one in the middle of the race if you find a secret.
The story is also pretty good, simplistic yeah, but good, it fits well in the whole theme of the game.
I really recommend this game if you want challenge and feel warm and fuzzy inside due to pretty graphics
This is quite a neat puzzle/racing game. Keeping Harold in the race isn't as easy as it seems at first, and scoring first place is even harder. But i would count that as positive for the game. The controls are fairly simple and easy to learn, although you might get confused on switching between obstacles for the first few times.
Other than that, the game features enjoyable, but not bothersome music (background choir!), a nice not-everyday-story (although nothing extraordinary or too deep), beautiful hand drawn graphics and funny animations.
I'd recommend this game to everyone who likes puzzle games, the art style, or someone who just wants to relax and have a few smiles or even a laugh for a few minutes, as the game never takes anything too serious.
And nobody could ever be really mad on clumsy Harold for being...well...Harold.
Saw this game on offer so thought I would buy the game and see what is is like....
I LOVE THIS GAME! Sure I want to pull my hair out and punch the wall after dying over and over and over again throughout the race!! But that is what makes it fun for me! Failing over and over until eventually I win! And that winning feeling is so nice! Graphically it is lovely, music is catchy and the gameplay is very fluid. I really enjoy this game.
As one man once said “Why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves up.” You will fall a lot on this game and you will pick yourself back up again and tackle the race head on once more!
Here is some gameplay :) enjoy
https://youtu.be/f19WiAiLXc8
this game is beautiful. The cartoon arts are splendid and it s a real pleasure just to look at the game.
It is incredibly difficult tough. U'll need ninja reflexes just to hope to get to the first place in the first race.
It's not for me at all, with my handicap and my troubles with coordinating both hands perfecly, i will not be able to do anything in this game, I know it already.
achievements are not even rewarding casual play...too bad.
If u are up for the challenge, buy it, it's gorgeous and you will be proud of you, I'm sure.
And the steam cards are really nice.
But from my own personal perspective, i can't recommend it.
Bought this today, very much enjoying it. Takes a bit of thinking and co-ordination......
Seems a nice game but always steam settings like not available with my screen size or else other problems I can't ever believe it's normal to always have to face these ridiculous problems.
Visual quality on this game is incredibly good... game play is incredibly hard... but that's what makes this better than any other platformer I have played, this one actually makes you work for it instead of making you just go through the motions... awesome game!
Harold in its self is a very cute game. The character Harold' adorable, the storyline's silly, and is a very bright game. I've only played the few first levels, but I can see myself playing more in the future. The only complaint I have so far is it is a strictly controller based game, and for a person who uses a keyboard most the time playing games, it is something I have to get used to. Other than that, it's a lovely game, with a very cutesty personality. So worth the $20.
For real gamers who like challenge!
You think you are an hardcore gamer, the king of the joystick, so this game is for you! The challenge here makes me remember the games when I was a kid in the 80's! I just finished Harold (all tracks but not all in 1st place and I need 4 more secret passages to discover), and you need to train a lot, remember the level design...like old game! To deserve each of your victory, you need to be a real good player. But when you get it you feel that you're the King of the world! ( untilyou watch the leaderboard and you understand that you can improve much more cause some guys here have 15 second less than your own record! How possible is that! I wanna see a video of that race!) Nevertheless you can finish the game without beeing first at all race, so if you just wanna enjoy the game even if your are not an hardcore gamer, that's possible, you just need to practice the race a bit (thanks for the practice mode -first time that I really need it as much)! The graphics as you can see are awesome (espescially for someone who like anime or cartoon), the music is beautiful and interact with your way of playing (when you get a better rank the choir cheers you up). The game is fun and will make you crazy as well......
Pro
design
fun
a real challenge
durability
really worth it!
To go along with the review, Footage and First Impressions here: http://youtu.be/mNTmB12cD-4
Summary:
A game that does well in its basic concept of helping a runner win a race while being his guardian angel, but could have been a lot better if there were detailed that were shored up. While the experience was enjoyable, those little frustrations will wear on the player, but not enough to not have fun messing with other racers, and the concept in a whole. Those who like repeating to shave seconds off their time and improving themselves will most likely like Harold. I personally would wait for the game to drop down in price, but it is a game worth playing.
Pros:
-Interesting Gameplay design, and engaging.
-Varied paths in tracks, and interactive items sometimes are good not to use, which makes you question things.
-Background story is actually interesting. Like the idea of being a guardian angle.
-Controls are spot on.
-Smart use of practice mode to help the player in the races.
-Races are challenging yet fun.
Cons:
-No keyboard support: this is only controller gameplay. And no way to rebind (I hate using LB AND RB to hit the bumpers). Definitely shows its console roots.
-Challenge mode just doesn't change enough to make it feel different from the regular race.
-Lack of retry button on practice. This means if you screw up, you HAVE to finish the portion in order to retry, which is really really annoying. Some obstacles just slow you down, and with trying to go for speed, that's really freaking annoying.
-Sometimes, messing with other racers or jumping into a pit seems to be a benefit. While use lose a "puff", the spawn time really makes it so that sometimes it actually helps in terms of time to race. Which is annoying.
-Early on, protagonist is hard to relate to, in fact, he seems like the asshole in question. On the other hand, they are setting up for a character building moment down the road, so only slight against it.
-No sound sliders. Really annoying in a modern PC release.
Дополнительная информация
| Разработчик | Moon Spider Studio |
| Платформы | Windows |
| Ограничение возраста | Нет |
| Дата релиза | 21.12.2024 |
| Metacritic | 70 |
| Отзывы пользователей | 75% положительных (16) |